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Friday, January 13, 2012

Sepia Saturday: Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt features a young girl looking at a hat.Well, take a gander at THESE hats:

My grandmother Lucille Rucker Davis is the first on the left,
middle row.

In 1955, Fess Parker was the star of Disney’s “Davy Crockett” television program. The show became so popular that Disney made a movie from the first 3 episodes.Parker recorded the theme song, “The Ballad of Davy Crockett," and it became so popular that everyone knew the words.Crockett in his coonskin cap became one of the most popular western heroes in the country, and his popularity spawned a hat-fad among boys.The much coveted coonskin cap was usually a faux-fur lined skull cap with raccoon tail.

My grandmother was working for Colonial Store in Portsmouth, Virginia, during the big Davy Crockett craze.I don’t recall the year of this photo, but it had to be mid- to late fifties – early sixties at the latest.Colonial Store was running some sort of promotion.The employees wore the coonskin caps for I-don’t-know-how-long, and they either gave away Davy Crockett dishes with purchase or maybe the dishes were simply available for purchase in the store during the promotion.I don’t know for sure.

The Davy Crockett plate was made in 1955 during the heyday of the “Davy Crockett” show.

Image from Google Images

I do remember having the dishes although I don’t know what became of them – probably donated to Goodwill or sold at a yard sale when their coolness factor had sufficiently worn off.Who knew the coolness factor could be reborn?

Oh I so wanted one of those hats. You've now got the song running through my head. One of those songs where you can't stop in the middle, you just have to keep singing it through to the end. Fun photo!

Oh I so remember singing the words to that song, indeed I suspect I can still remember most of them. And I do recall that I had a Davy Crocket hat, even here in West Yorkshire, many many miles from the wild frontier. Great picture and great memories.

I remember well that TV series, as it played here in Quebec as "Daniel Boon". Why the change of name, I have no idea... Still, I watched it avidly! But I never wore such a hat, being against hunting per se. But we saw many guys around here wearing those big coon hats, real ones...:)~ HUGZ

I'm sure you were an advanced child! What I meant to say was "Daniel Boone" was a good ol' western that appealed to adults AS WELL AS kids, and didn't carry the stigma of having once been a show for kids.

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About Me

My name is Wendy. About twenty years ago, I helped my mother research the Jolletts. Since retiring from teaching, I have expanded my research which I share here. When I’m not looking for my own family, I index for FamilySearch and the Greene County Historical Society.
Welcome to Jollett Etc. Please leave a comment to let me know you were here. If you have more information or believe we are related, EMAIL ME at wendymath at cox dot net